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HARTLAND — Say what you will about the Hartland football team and its struggles over the past two seasons, but the Eagles, no matter their record and no matter how bleak the situation may be, continue to fight.

They did last year, closing out the season with back-to-back victories against Grand Blanc and Walled Lake Central after a 1-6 start. And they have again in Weeks 4 and 5 this year, holding leads into the fourth quarter vs. the Bobcats and now Salem.

Last week, Grand Blanc rallied in the final period to steal a 29-14 victory and snap a three-game losing streak to the Eagles. Salem was able to rally also, taking the lead in the fourth quarter on Friday night.

But the Eagles learned from their previous week’s mistakes.

They wouldn’t be outscored, 16-0, in the fourth quarter once again. And they refused to lose a game because they went scoreless in the final 12 minutes for a second straight week. Instead, Hartland lost the lead, but pulled off a come-from-behind rally of its own, similar to the one in Week 1 against Westland John Glenn.

A 1-yard touchdown run by Tommy Lappin late in the fourth snatched the game out of Salem’s grasp, giving the Eagles a much-needed, 21-17, victory that perhaps re-instilled life into a season that, a week ago, appeared to be going south.

For the Eagles, the upset-in-the-making began with an explosive first quarter. Ian Kendrick picked off a pass from Rocks’ quarterback Ryan Young and returned it 12 yards for a defensive touchdown. That was followed by a 13-yard TD scamper from wide receiver/running back Reece Potter to put the Eagles up, 14-0.

Rocks’ wideout Travell Hale caught his only pass of the game from Young for a 63-yard score, slicing the deficit to seven before the halftime break. Salem kicker Joshua Gilmour cut the Hartland lead to four with a 37-yard boot in the third.

In the fourth, Andrew Davis scored a 1-yard TD to give Salem its first lead, 17-14. With all the momentum going in Salem’s favor, things looked bleak for the Eagles.

But, like they have been doing in those bleak scenarios, they fought. And this time, it paid off with Lappin’s TD.

It wasn’t pretty for the Eagles, who were outgained, 255-176, but those are the types of games they loved to win when they were at their peak two seasons ago.

Defensively, they forced four turnovers, intercepting three passes and recovering a fumble, while holding stud running back Davis to just 81 yards on 20 attempts.

Hartland now has Novi, Livonia Stevenson and Howell over the next three weeks. If it can win two of those three — and Novi and Howell are certainly winnable games — it could be vying for a playoff spot in Week 9.